Most probably, you know the benefit of an electronic health record system. However, the point of focus is that choosing the right one for your work is difficult because there are many EHR options. Different criteria differ for the variety of EHR available and make them suitable according to certain requirements and usage. Also, there are different types of electronic health record systems too. Medical care providers clearly know that selecting a system for their medical practice is not simple.
In this article, you will get to know details about the EHR system and types of EHR. This way it will become a bit easy for you to understand and choose the best type of electronic health record system for your medical practice.
Electronic health record – What is it?
The Electric Health Record or EHR is a system that works as one system for the convenience of the physician to keep the entire track record of their patient’s health information. Usually, this is computer-based software that has a saved file for each of the patient’s health aspects. The best thing about this system is that it helps in increased efficiency and gives instant access to the patient’s information.
Benefits of the EHRs
The electronic Health Record system has a great deal of benefits. It makes it quite simple and commonplace for the medical care professional to access the patient info remotely. Alongside, it also makes the one aware of the potent danger medication error way sooner. The certain EHR that shares information between several different medical care providers also enables the doctor to know about the critical lab values in a quicker pace. Such information sharing takes the user ahead to knowledge and this is the step that helps in improving the overall health of the patient in the long term.
Some reports by physicians using the EHR system mentioned that it enhanced their patients’ overall health and care.
What are the types of EHR systems?
There are a variety of ways in which these EHR systems get configured. Each has its pros and cons following the medical practice requirements and needs.
Here are the major types of EHR systems.
1. Physician-hosted system
Basically, a physician-hosted system means that the entire data gets hosted by the physicians’ server.
In this, the physician is inclined to purchase the hardware and software alongside continuing the maintenance and security of the data that is stored on the physician’s servers. These types of Electronic Health Records systems get hosted by the physician while their medical practice has chances to benefit the larger practice. That larger practice has the potential to cover the overhead price of using the difficult software. Also, the onsite servers help in speeding up the EHR system and make it a reliable source of knowledge.
2. Remotely-hosted system
Remotely-hosted EHR systems move the data storage from the physician to third parties. This type of body is needed to get deal with a lot of maintenance, security, and backup of the entire data. EHR systems that are remotely hosted set aside the duty of data maintenance anywhere else that is apart from one physician or medical practice. This change of responsibility may attract smaller practices or medical care providers whose core focus is to collect the information instead of storing it. Such kind of system decreases the issues of IT that are liable to take away the attention of physicians from their care and the well-being of patients.
3. Remote system
This type of EHR has further three varieties, which are described below;
- Subsidized
This system involves a relationship with the body that subsidizes the price of the EHR software. Generally, the physician makes the relationship with a hospital and then controls the data. Note that the remote system involves a subsidizing entity liable to bring up some particular legal issues, including data ownership concerns and antitrust.
- Dedicated
A dedicated host system means that the physicians store EHR on certain vendor servers. Usually, such servers are in particular locations. Moreover, a physician is totally unable to control most of the aspects of the data storage incorporated with the dedicated system.
- Who to choose
So this one is one of the most popular EHR remote systems. This is a cloud or internet-based computing system. In this HER system, the physician does not require to store any patient’s data on their own servers. But the vendor stores that in the cloud. So this means that the data always gets stored anywhere else with security on the internet. Also, it can easily get accessed via the website of the vendor.
Certain types of electronic health record systems are more attractive to medical professionals. Most of the time cloud-based systems are considered because of their cost-efficient means of storing data. It is ideal for organizations that cannot hire an IT professional to manage and maintain the data.
Although, the large size of the health system has the possibility and organization capacity to hire an IT team and buy costly hardware. Moreover, the physician-hosted system is great for organizations that require absolute control over their data, including optimization, infrastructure, and security.
The healthcare industry has other systems to manage patient records, like EHR, i.e., EMR systems. Let’s talk about them.
What are types of EMR systems in healthcare?
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems are digital versions of patients’ medical records that are stored in a computer system. These systems typically include a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, treatment plans, medications, test results, and other pertinent medical information.
EMR systems can be used by healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to record, store, and access patient information more efficiently and efficiently. They are different types of EMR systems designed to improve the quality of patient care, reduce errors, and streamline administrative tasks such as billing and scheduling.
In addition to patient information, EMR systems may include features such as electronic prescription writing, clinical decision support tools, and patient portals allowing patients to access their medical information and communicate with their healthcare providers.
Difference between EHR and EMR systems
Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems are two related but distinct digital medical record systems types.
EMR systems are digital versions of a patient’s medical record that a single healthcare provider or organization, such as a hospital or clinic, maintain. They typically contain information such as medical history, diagnoses, medications, test results, and treatment plans.
On the other hand, EHR systems are designed to be more comprehensive and are intended to be shared across multiple healthcare organizations and providers. EHRs may contain information from all of the healthcare providers and organizations involved in a patient’s care, including primary care providers, specialists, hospitals, and pharmacies. EHRs can be accessed by authorized healthcare providers to view a patient’s medical information, regardless of where the patient received care.
EHRs also typically include additional features beyond those found in EMR systems, such as population health management tools, clinical decision support systems, and patient engagement tools.
In short, EMR systems focus on patients’ medical records within a single healthcare organization, while EHR systems are designed to be shared across multiple healthcare providers and organizations and provide a more comprehensive view of a patient’s medical history and care.
Final words
Initially, to choose the right type of EHR system for your organization is to consider different options alongside knowing its pros and cons. Know your needs and budget before buying an electronic health record or electronic medical system software. Remember that you need something that works for you following your ways, not something that requires you to change your practice.
This is the precise guide about EHRs and the types of EHR systems. Hopefully, it helps you select your next system for patients’ health record information.